Hatter's Redemption
by Faust IX
Summary: Hatter hates himself for what he's done. How can Alice prove to him that they forgive him?
1. Prologue: Rememberance

**Summery:** Hatter hates himself for what he did. How can Alice prove to him that they've forgiven him?

**Pairings:** AlicexHatter

**Hatter's Redemption**

**Prologue: Remembrance**

Alice rolled to the side to dodge another tea bomb thrown at her. Her emerald eyes shot up at the mechanical scarecrow that was once the Mad Hatter.

A scowl flashed on his pale face before grinning and firing a set of missiles in her direction.

She circled around him, avoiding the missiles before throwing a few jacks at him. The sharp toys buried themselves into his arm.

The hatter growled in pain before tearing them out, a small stream of blood and oil stained his sleeve. Ignoring the pain, the hatter turned back to Alice and with long strides stomped towards her.

Alice armed a jack bomb and hurled the toy at the hatter. To her shock, the hatter leaped over the explosion, landing right in front of her. Using his cane like a club, he struck Alice hard in the side, sending her sprawling to the floor.

Taking a few seconds to regain her senses, Alice saw the hatter advancing on her. She scrambled back to try and give her some distance, but the tall 'man' closed in, backing her into a wall. Her eyes darted around, looking for something to use. She had dropped her knife when Hatter struck her and now she was completely unarmed.

Then she saw it.

The musket!

The hatter stood over her, raising his cane up into the air, intending to smash her skull with it.

"Time's up Alice!" he cried, about to bring his cane down on her head.

Without giving either of them time to think, she grabbed the musket and aimed it at the hatter's head.

A look of surprise flashed on his face in the split second before she pulled the trigger.

There was a loud bang and the hatter's now headless body staggered back, arms flailing before collapsing to the floor. He twitched for a few seconds before finally laying still.

Alice slowly climbed to her feet, her eyes locked on the hatter's body.

Then it hit her.

The Mad Hatter was dead. And she had killed him!

It had finally hit her. The Mad Hatter, someone she cared about, someone she loved, was dead. And killed by her own hand.

She didn't cry when she killed the Duchess. She didn't cry when she killed the Tweedles. But this was just too much.

Unable to contain it anymore, Alice fell to her knees, her face falling into her hands and burst into tears. The only time she had cried so hard was when her parents died.

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Alice's eyes slowly opened, bringing her back to the darkness that was her bedroom. She could feel the tears on her cheeks as her eyes stared at nothing. She had often had dreams of nightmare wonderland, memories of that terrible time.

However, whether it was the memory of her battle with the Jabberwock, or the death of the White Rabbit, she treated them all the same, as if they were nightmares.

All but one…

No memory made her made sadder then the memory of her killing the hatter. She could remember it more clearly then any over event in that time. The memory of that sad moment almost tore her heart in two.

"Hatter," she whimpered as tears continued to roll down her face.

"Now's not the time for sleeping Alice," piped a voice.

Alice's eyes widened as she shot upright. She looked towards the door of her room to see an unusual figure standing there.

He appeared human, with a shock of ivory hair and brown eyes. His skin was slightly pale, with a lean build. He wore a red waist coat, a white undershirt, white pants, black shoes and white gloves, as well as a gold pocket watch hanging from his breast pocket.

What made him stand out where the white rabbit ears poking out of his hair.

"Rabbit?" Alice asked, not too sure of what she was saying. The rabbit smirked and raised his arms, showing off his form.

"What do you think?" he asked, not noticing the tears on Alice's face.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to take you."

In her heart, Alice knew what he meant, but she had to ask.

"Take me where?"

A small glint appeared in the rabbit's eye.

"Where else? Wonderland."

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Not a bad opening if I do say so myself. What has become of the Hatter and the other denizens of Wonderland? Stick around to find out.


	2. Chapter 1: Forget About Me

**Summery:** Hatter hates himself for what he did. How can Alice prove to him that they've forgiven him?

**Pairings:** AlicexHatter

Disclaimer: I do not own American McGee's Alice. If I did, Hatter would look a hell of a lot better. 

**Hatter's Redemption**

Chapter 1: Forget About Me

Alice was overjoyed when the White Rabbit told her that Wonderland was back the way it was, and even more, all the residents that had died during that horrible incident were brought back to life. The Tweedles, the Griffon, and most importantly, the Mad Hatter!

As soon as the Rabbit had brought her down the rabbit hole, she immediately dashed off towards the hatter's home. Even though in her mind, she absolutely had no idea where the hatter's home was (the only time she was there was when she was teleported there by the hatter), she still ran in the direction she thought (and hoped) it was in.

Thankfully enough, she was right. Oddly enough, the hatter's home was almost has she had expected. It was a tall, jaunting and almost crooked tower. The roof was completely flat, and on a bit of an angle. The entire place was surrounded by a small garden of lavenders, which almost matched the purple stone.

From a distance, it almost resembled a top hat.

"Well," came a voice form behind, "Look who's back in Wonderland."

Alice spun around to see none other then the Cheshire cat. Oddly enough, he still had the form he had during Wonderland's more nightmarish phase. He was still the scrawny, mangy, grinning feline she knew.

Alice smirked.

"And look who's still the mangy cat," she said, holding back a laugh. The cat chuckled.

"It seems you still have no matters," he looked up at the house behind her, "Visiting the hatter are we?"

Alice nodded and headed for the door, with the cat following close behind.

Inside was pretty much how Alice predicted. On the walls hung all sorts of hats and clocks (which were all stuck on six-o-clock). In the middle was a large table, but unlike the one at the March Hare's place, which was a rectangle, this one was a circle, to match the shape of the room. Tea was all set out and the top half of the room was obscured by steam.

Speaking of the March Hare, he and the Dormouse were sitting at the table. The March Hare's new form was similar to the White Rabbit's. He looked human with long, brown hair, friendly brown eyes and dressed in a green, rather formal suit. Like the rabbit, the only way to tell who he was, was the pair of brown hare's ears poking out through his hair.

The Dormouse's form had changed too. He almost resembled a child, with short black hair (she couldn't see his eyes due to him being asleep) and he was wearing brown pants and which shirt, which was at least, three sizes too big.

The hare spotted Alice and smiled.

"Alice!" he laughed as he stood up, "What a wonderful surprise! Please, sit down!"

Alice laughed. This was the first tea party they had where he didn't scream out "No room!" Nonetheless, Alice sat down. March jabbed Dormy in the side.

"Wake up Dormy," he said, "look who's here!"

Dormy opened one eye lazy, but then shot wide-awake when he saw it was Alice.

"Alice!" he cried happily as he bounded across the table and gave her a big hug. Alice laughed as she was almost knocked out of her chair.

"Nice to see you to," she replied, giving him a warm hug. She then looked around and noticed someone was missing. The one she came here to see.

"March," she asked, "Where's Hatter?"

The joy seemed to wash from March's face and was replaced by a sad stare. The same happened to Dormy. A bad feeling began to form in Alice's stomach.

"Follow me," March said as he stood up. Dormy hopped off the table and followed him. Alice got up and did as well.

The March Hare led them up a flight of stairs, circling the entire tower. Upon half way up, there was a loud crash followed by a miserable wail. Alice gasped and was about to run up the stairs when March stopped her. He simply shook his head and they continued up.

March then signalled the two to stop, just before a door. The hare walked slowly up to the door and knocked softly.

"Hatter," he said in a soft tone, "It's me."

"Go away!" cried a young yet sad voice from the other side. Alice was amazed just how young he sounded.

"There's someone here to see you," March said.

"Tell them to leave!" Hatter cried, "I want to be alone."

"Hatter I'm coming in," the hare said sternly, "Don't throw anything!"

He opened the door and gestured for Alice to come in. Upon seeing the room she gasped.

The room was a mess. Broken furniture littered the floor, the window and mirror were smashed and everything was strewed all over the floor. It was dark as well.

There, sobbing in the corner, was the Mad Hatter.

"Alice couldn't see his face, only his back. He was curled up in a ball so all Alice could tell was that he was wearing a purple suit.

"There," the hatter chocked, not even looking to see who it was, "You've seen me, now go away!"

Alice slowly took a few steps forward.

"Hatter."

The hatter's body froze at the sound of her voice. Slowly, he turned. Alice could see him clearly now.

He was pale (probably due to lack of sunlight), his pale blonde hair was in disarray and his eyes didn't match, one blue and one green. He wore white gloves, green pants and his hat, like his jacket, was purple. Overall, the hatter almost appeared handsome to Alice.

"A…Alice?" he said slowly, unsure whether the girl before him was real or not.

Alice squatted down in front of him.

"It's me."

Tears weld up in the hatter's eyes as he turned away. Alice placed a hand on his shoulder, only to have it jerk away at her touch.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed, "Don't dirty your hands on such filth!"

Alice was a bit shocked and confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked sympathetically.

"I am!"

Alice was confused now.

"What?"

"Don't pretend you don't know!" Hatter cried, "You know of all the horrid things I've done to everyone, to Wonderland!"

Alice's expression softened.

"It's ok."

"No it's not! I tried to turn Wonderland into one big clock! I experimented on Dormy and March! My two best friends! And the children, oh those poor children! Poisoning their minds and turning them into machines. And what's worse was…"

He looked up at Alice.

"I tried to kill you. No, worse! I tried to turn you into one of my automatons! A fate worse then death!"

Alice placed her hand on his shoulder again. Even though he tried to pull his shoulder away, Alice kept her hand on it.

"It's ok," she said softly, "You couldn't resist it. Others stronger then you fell to the madness."

The hatter sobbed.

"But I didn't resist it. I became like that willingly."

Alice gasped and pulled away.

"What?"

"After your parents died, I felt so bad seeing you in such a miserable state. I began trying to find a way to make you happy again. I turned to my machines in search of a solution. As Wonderland changed, I changed with it. I then began thinking the only way to make you happy was to make you a machine. Machines feel no pain, no sadness. But I was wrong. Machines show no emotion at all, not even happiness."

Alice was shocked by his confession, but also saddened. She knew that if she hadn't gone crazy, hatter wouldn't have either. She knew her twisting of Wonderland had caused him to come up with such a monstrous plan.

"Hatter." A small tear rolled down her cheek. The hatter seemed to notice this as he spun around, eyes wide.

"Don't cry Alice," he said softly, "You've done nothing wrong."

_How wrong you are Hatter._

Hatter curled up into a ball again.

"Just go. Just go and be happy. Forget about me. Everyone should just forget about me. If everyone forgets about me, maybe I'll disappear. Everyone will be better off without me."

It pained Alice to see him like this. She knew deep down that it was her fault, not the hatter's.

"Just go! I know there's no way you can forgive me for what I've done."

"But Hatter," Alice leaned in closer, "We do forgive you."

"How can you? I can't even forgive myself."

Alice sighed. She had to admit, what Hatter did was pretty awful, but then again, so had almost everyone else, including herself.

"Hatter," she said, "Come on down and have tea with us. I'll prove to you that everyone's forgiven you."

"No, you just go. I don't deserve any."

"Hatter, I'm not taking no for an answer. Now come on down."

The hatter sighed and pulled himself to his feet. Even though he felt he didn't deserve any of this, he didn't want to cause anymore grief for Alice.

Alice smiled softly as she took his hand and led him down to the main room.

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Hope you like it so far. As for the appearances of the hatter, MarchHare and Dormouse, well, just take a look atthese three pics (NOTE: the third one I drew myself, the first two are not mine.

The March Hare

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	3. Chapter 2: Tea Time

**Summery:** Hatter hates himself for what he did. How can Alice prove to him that they've forgiven him?

**Pairings:** AlicexHatter

Disclaimer: I do not own American McGee's Alice. If I did, Hatter would look a hell of a lot better. 

**Hatter's Redemption**

**Chapter 2: Tea Time**

Everything was silent at the table. March and Dormy were trying to act like nothing was wrong, but they still kept unusually quiet as they sipped their tea. Alice tried to act normal too, but her eyes kept going up to the young man sitting silently opposite to her.

The Mad Hatter sat the in complete silence, barely touching his tea except for slowly stirring it with a spoon. He knew his presence there was the reason for the quiet. He wished he was back in his room, while the rest of Wonderland enjoyed their lives.

The first one to speak was Dormy. He walked quietly across the table to the depressed hatter.

"Hatter?"

The Hatter looked up at Dormy mournfully.

"Don't be sad," Dormy said softly, "We know you're not evil anymore. We forgive you."

"We do," March spoke up, "you weren't the only one to go crazy, and they've been forgiven. Heck, even the queen was given a second chance. It's not such a hard thing to forgive you too."

Alice smiled warmly as Hatter hugged the Dormouse.

"Thank you," he choked, almost on the verge of tears again.

"See," Alice said kindly, "They forgive you, and you probably did the worst to them."

Hatter's expression turned grim as he pulled out of the hug.

"No," he said sadly, "the worst is what I did to those poor insane children, and there's no way they will forgive."

Alice expression fell as well. There was no way they'd forgive him, mainly because SHE killed them. Still Hatter wasn't going to make all this forgiveness business easy.

"Hatter," Alice spoke softly. Hatter looked up from his cup.

"If it make you feel any better, what I did to those children wasn't any better then what you did," she paused , "I killed them."

Hatter's eyes widened slightly, as if finding it hard to believe that Alice could do something wrong. After a few seconds, his mild surprise vanished.

"You did the right thing," he said, "You freed them from their pain."

A part of Alice wanted to slam her head on the table. This guy just wasn't going to lighten up without a fight. The guy was justifying murder for crying out loud.

Alice sadly looked down at her cup. Hatter thought she killed them out of pity. He was wrong. Alice was only caring for her own survival when she killed them. In a way, what Alice did was no better then what Hatter had done.

"Hatter…"

Before Alice could say anything, the door opened. A card guard, a jack of diamonds, walked in, followed closely by the White Rabbit. All attention turned to the hack as he pulled a parchment out of his pack and opened it.

"Miss Alice Liddell," he read, "The Mad Hatter, The March Hair and The Dormouse. You have all been invited to a grand dinner hosted by the Queen of Hearts to celebrate Wonderland's return to her former glory. Refusal will not be accepted. You are expected to arrive at 8pm tonight. Good day."

And with that, the jack turned and marched out the door. The White Rabbit chuckled.

"We really do look forward to seeing you all tonight," he said before following the jack out the door, closing it behind him.

The four were quiet for a moment before the Dormouse piped up.

"A party! That will be fun won't it guys?"

Alice and March quickly caught the hint and smiled.

"Yes, of course it will," Alice turned to Hatter, "Wont it?"

"I don't know…" Hatter was about to say when Dormy cut him off.

"Oh come on," Dormy smiled, "Everyone will be there."

"Everyone…" Hatter looked gloomily at his cup. Alice rolled her eyes. Enough was enough.

"Hatter," she said as she stood up and walked over to him, "If it'll make you feel better, I'll take you around Wonderland and I'll SHOW you everyone's forgiven you."

"I don't know," Hatter said as he got up, "I think I should just go back to my room."

Alice grabbed his arm to stop him going any further.

"Come on Hatter, it'll be good ot get you out of that room. You'll see."

"I'm not sure."

"Hatter, we're going for a walk and that's final!"

"No!"

Alice sighed.

"A little help?"

March and Dormouse jumped to their feet and dove at Hatter. Before the Mad Hatter could do anything, March had him by the legs, and Dormy was walking under him, holding his torso up.

The Hatter struggled as the three of them carried him over to the door.

"Ok, on the count of three."

"One."

"Two."

"THREE!"

With a yelp, the hatter was thrown out the door. Alice quickly stepped out, closed the door and locked it, to prevent Hatter from trying to get back in.

Alice spun around when the Hatter let out a yelp of pain. She saw Hatter curled up on the ground, his hands covering his eyes. Being in that dark room, he was not used to the bright light yet. A fact Hatter confirmed when he yelled out:

"See! Even the sun hates me!"

Alice felt like stomping the emo out of the Hatter. However, knowing the Hatter, it would only make things worse.

Instead, Alice gently helped him up, linking her arm with his, partially to keep him from running away. Hatter blushed slightly at the gesture.

Alice gave him a small, friendly smile.

"Let's go."

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Next chapter, we meet a few more of the Wonderland residents and see how they turned out.

I'd like to say I'm sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I just lost interest for a brief period.


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